5-Panel Door Repurposed Into Flower Box With Oxidized Tin Panels

Mr. Frugalista found this narrow solid core 5-panel door at our local salvage yard that most likely came from a broom closet in an old home. When he brought it home he leaned it against the house on our deck and there it stayed for several days.

One sunny morning while enjoying my first coffee of the day still clad in my pj's (it's not nearly as relaxing showered and fully dressed) I looked over at the door and then at the wooden flower planter beside it and an Old 5-Panel Door Repurposed Into A Flower Box was born.

The idea to add a gable roof and turn the panels into oxidized tin came later.

The old 5-panel door was hot off the truck at the salvage yard and they were just removing the hardware when Mr. Frugalista walked in the door.

How To Repurpose An Old Door Into A Flower Box

Step 1: Painting the door

First, it got a fresh coat of chalk paint in the color Vanilla Frosting followed by light distressing around the edges. Normally I wax my chalk painted pieces but because this was going to be used outdoors in direct sunlight I gave it a couple coats of exterior poly. I applied a coat of dark glaze and wiped off the excess to keep the integrity of it being an old door.

The panels were just begging for a little something special and that's when I got the idea of inserting sheets of tin that looked like they had been oxidized from the elements over time.

Thanks to Modern Masters, I tried their Copper Metal Effects Kit and was thrilled to get the look of oxidized copper at a fraction of the cost by using galvanized tin.

Step 2: Punching graphics onto the tin panels

Note: This was a great idea, had I not decided to oxidize the tin. Once it was oxidized the punched graphics literally disappeared unless the sun shines on them at just the right angle. You may want to avoid this step OR just do this instead of the oxidization.

The graphics were found online and printed on regular bond paper. Using an Awl and a hammer, punched the graphic onto each sheet of tin. The masking tape around the sheets was to avoid cutting myself because they had very sharp edges.

Step 3: Oxidizing galvanized tin

Now, this is where the fun began. Included in the Modern Masters Copper Metal Effects Kit are Copper Primer, Reactive Metallic Paint, and Green Patina Aging Solution.

First I rolled three coats of Copper Primer onto the tin sheets, letting them dry 30 minutes. Already it looks like real copper.

After waiting 12 hours for the primer to completely dry I rolled one coat of Copper Reactive Metallic Paint. You would have a hard time believing those sheets were not copper unless you flipped them over. Kind of like flipping over dinnerware at a party to see if it's expensive china. Come on, we've all done it.

After 30 minutes I rolled another coat of copper reactive metallic paint but before it was dry I spritzed it with Green Patina Aging Solution and watched the magic happen.

Isn't that amazing! After 30 minutes I took a slightly damp seafoam sponge and randomly dabbed the tin. I love the patina and how it brought out more of the red tones.

Step 4: Building the gable roof

Then I got the idea of adding a gable roof to the top of the door using ripped fence boards that we had on hand. Curious how the metal effects kit would work on wood I repeated Step 3 on the roof.

Step 5: Attaching the gable roof

The gable roof was attached from the back with flat steel brackets (sorry but I completely forgot to take a picture of this step).

Step 6: Attaching the tin panels

The tin panels were attached with glue and small upholstery nails. They look so amazing, especially when the sun hits just right revealing the punched graphics.

But in all honesty, the punched designs are hard to see unless the sun is shining directly on them. In hindsight, I could have saved myself some time and eliminated that step and let the copper patina speak for itself.

Step 7: Adding the wooden flower planter

We secured the door and our rectangular wooden flower planter onto a wood stand because this area of our deck tends to be a wind tunnel. The wooden flower box was chalk painted in the same simplicity white chalk paint as the door.

I can assure you that Mr. Frugalista never imagined his salvaged little old door would become a lovely 5-Panel Door Repurposed Into A Flower Box With Oxidized Tin Panels for Le Jardin.

When Mr. Frugalista told me there was another door exactly the same, I quickly set my coffee cup down, hopped out of those pj's so fast and headed straight to the salvage yard. No surprise it had already sold.

Can you imagine how even more adorable this flower planter would have looked with two matching doors side-by-side? I hope our flower box has inspired you to make something whimsical and fun for your outdoor living space.

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